Students struggle with new math class

Like a lot of Georgia’s students, many Jackson County 9th Graders struggled last fall with the new Coordinate Algebra class mandated under the new Common Core Curriculum.

Statewide, 59 percent of students failed fall’s End of Course Test in the class. Locally, 49 percent of students at East Jackson Comprehensive High School and Jefferson High School failed while 56 percent at Jackson County Comprehensive High School failed.
The results mirrored other states where the tougher new Common Core standards have caught a lot of students by surprise.

The Coordinate Algebra class replaced the controversial Math 1 integrated class that had been a mix of several math disciplines. School systems began this year phasing out those and other related math classes in favor of the Common Core model.

In other EOCT tests from last fall, most local schools did better than the overall state averages and improved on last spring’s testing results. The most significant improvement was in Math 2 at EJCHS where only 26 percent of students failed last fall compared to 43 percent last spring.

All three high schools were the same or better last fall in 9th Grade Literature, 11th Grade Literature, Biology and Physical Science.

But both JCCHS and EJCHS saw declines in Economics from last spring with EJCHS doing slightly worse than the state average.